Getting Climate Ready

In October 2019 City of Mitcham declared a Climate Emergency, reflecting Council's preparedness to provide leadership for our community in addressing the unprecedented threat of climate change. Following the decision to support the Climate Emergency it was decided that Council recognises the need to give climate mitigation and adaptation still more emphasis in its decisions and operations.

Climate change is critical issue for our community, where societies and ecosystems are highly vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change. For City of Mitcham this means a general warming and drying trend. Identified impacts of these changes include:

Higher temperatures – including more extremely hot days and heat waves

More frequent very high and extreme fire danger days

Decreased flows in water supply catchments (including the Murray-Darling)

Increased flood risk placing pressure on stormwater infrastructure

Shifts in conditions affecting viability of native plants and animals

For more information about Australia’s future climate visit the CSIRO website.

The City of Mitcham has taken the pledge to tackle climate change in its own backyard as part of the Cities Power Partnership. Our community want meaningful action on climate change and we’re proud to join the hundreds of shires, towns and cities across Australia that are cutting greenhouse gas pollution, switching to clean energy and building resilient communities.

As our climate warms, heatwaves are getting hotter, longer and more frequent. Council’s Resilient South project is monitoring one of the key effects of climate change in the south an increase in the frequency and intensity of heatwaves through mapping. Take the time to discover how hot your local area is by visiting our heating mapping tool below.

Resilient South, an initiative of the Cities of Mitcham, Onkaparinga, Holdfast Bay and Marion, is about strengthening southern Adelaide so that our communities, businesses and environments can bounce back from the challenges of climate change, and stay productive, connected, and strong.

To find out more please go to our newly created Climate Ready Southern Adelaide website here.

The City of Mitcham is focusing on reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere by implementing active measures such as improving energy efficiency, using renewable and low emission technologies to help avoid future impacts of climate change beyond what is already projected and at the same time save money.